


Just A Little Bit's Enough

by Too_Much_Fandom



Series: Marriage counseling [2]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Old Married Couple, Relationship Advice, major character deaths mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:28:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27271210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Too_Much_Fandom/pseuds/Too_Much_Fandom
Summary: Rolf Scamander visits his grandparents, Newt and Tina, a few days before his wedding to Luna Lovegood. Newt and Rolf have a heart-to-heart, in which Newt tells Rolf about the time he and Tina struggled in their marriage and the lessons they learned from that time.
Relationships: Luna Lovegood/Rolf Scamander, Tina Goldstein/Newt Scamander
Series: Marriage counseling [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1991236
Comments: 9
Kudos: 33





	Just A Little Bit's Enough

**Author's Note:**

> This is a one-shot sequel to We Can Learn To Love Again. Enjoy! As always, kudos and comments are appreciated!

Tina finished setting out the tea, and sat down to rest for a moment. “Tina, love,” her husband called out softly, “no need to rush to and fro. You’re 109, please don’t wear yourself out.”

“You need to watch that you don’t wear yourself out. You’re 113, after all,” Tina teased, “not that you look a day over 70.”

“Nor do you,” Newt assured his wife, plopping down next to her and rubbing her shoulders, “though we’ve got a big weekend coming up, I think we both need to take it easy. It would hardly do for us to be all wrung out for Rolf’s wedding.”

“Speaking of Rolf,” Tina grinned, as they heard the knock on the door. She lazily lifted her wand to open it, and in strode their youngest grandson for their weekly tea, tall and lanky like his grandfather, and his hair just as impossibly floppy and messy, though he had the dark coloring of his mother’s side of the family. 

“Hello, dear,” Tina grinned up at her grandson as he leaned in to kiss her cheek, then to embrace his grandfather, before sitting down to join them for tea. 

“So, just under a week till the big day,” Tina grinned widely, “you ready?”

“Oh, stop making the lad nervous,” Newt teased, “Rolf knows that he and Luna are almost as perfect a couple as you and I.” He winked at Rolf.

“Sunday can’t come soon enough,” Rolf smiled dreamily, “I can’t wait to call Luna my wife. But, I do admit, I’m also a little bit nervous…” he admitted.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Newt patted his shoulder, “everyone’s a little nervous before getting married. It’s a big step. And it isn’t always easy, but it is mostly wonderful.”

“You and granny certainly make it look easy,” Rolf remarked.

“Well, after 82 years, I can see how it might seem that way to you young’uns,” Tina chuckled, “but would you believe, your grandad here still knows exactly how to push my buttons for maximum crazy-making!”

“Am I really that bad?” Newt exclaimed in mock indignation.

“Every bit as terrible as I make you out to be,” Tina deadpanned, before standing up. She walked over to kiss her husband fondly on the cheek, “now, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna lay down for a bit. Let you two have a little pre wedding talk, man to man.” 

She kissed Rolf on the forehead and shuffled upstairs, leaving the grandfather and grandson to talk. 

Newt stood to clear up. “Oh, no, grandad, please, I’ll take care of it,” Rolf insisted, pulling out his wand to start sending everything back to where it belonged.

“I may be 113, but I’m not an invalid,” Newt grumped. 

“I know, I know,” Rolf replied, “still, I’m not about to sit around while my grandad cleans up by himself.”

“So, did you want to talk, man to man, as granny put it?” Newt asked, lazily waving his wand alongside Rolf to help get everything put away.

“Er...yes,” Rolf admitted, “I wanted to know...surely, as someone who’s still madly in love with his wife of 82 years, you have some words of wisdom for me?”

Newt thought for a moment. There was plenty to share after a long and mostly happy, if sometimes trying, life together. The very room in which they stood was a testament to just how rich and fulfilling a life he and Tina had built together. There was hardly enough surface area on the walls and furniture tops for all the moving pictures, starting with the old black and white photos of Newt and Tina’s wedding, pictures of them as parents of young children, giving way to pictures of seeing their children off at the Hogwarts Express, family vacations, graduations. 

The pictures were in color as time moved on, documenting the weddings of the children, and births of grandchildren, and, eventually, weddings of grandchildren and births of great-grandchildren. Newt was going to have to add some more extension charms to make space for the new pictures they would have from Rolf’s wedding and eventual children.

But as Newt looked over the documented happy times covering his living room, what stood out to him the most in his mind was a time, nearly 75 years ago, when things had not been so happy, and in fact, had been quite on the brink of destruction. Even now, decades later, he felt a tug at his heart when he thought of that difficult time.

“I think the most important thing I can tell you is that you should never be afraid to reach out for help, if you need it,” Newt finally settled on.

Rolf was surprised to hear that. “Help? Why would we need help? I mean, surely, you and granny-”

“Granny and I hit a very rough patch many years ago,” Newt explained, “we went for help. We went to marriage counseling for a year or so, and it was the best thing we ever did. In fact, you and your brothers wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t…”

“What do you mean by that?” Rolf asked, intrigued. 

“It was before we had your father, Zev,” Newt recounted, “your Aunt Yael and Uncle Ari were quite small then. The regular day to day stresses, on top of other things going on at the time really brought us to a low point,” Newt sighed heavily, remembering just how bad things had gotten in his marriage, “We were certainly not in a good place to have more children, and I doubt we would have had your father had we not gotten back on track.”

“I can’t imagine you and granny ever having a real argument! Is it true?” Rolf gasped, “did you really reach a point of needing counseling?”

“Oh, we sure did,” Newt nodded, “and I’m telling you this because there’s no shame in it, and it’s important. We worried then too, that there was something wrong with us, that maybe we should feel ashamed for going. It was actually your grand-uncle Jacob, Merlin rest his soul, who suggested we go. He was right. He saved us.” Newt got a little misty eyed thinking about Jacob. Jacob had been gone for over 30 years now, and he still missed his best friend terribly.

He turned back to Rolf, “You must understand, lad, life is not always smooth and easy. Even when you love someone more than anything, there are many stresses, especially once the children start coming along. It’s not uncommon for the marriage to end up getting pushed too far down on the list of priorities. Of course it’s best not to let that happen in the first place, but if it does, you can recognize the signs, and get help if you need it.”

“So what happened? You went to counseling and..?” Rolf trailed off, wanting to hear more of this tale he never would have thought his adorably doting grandparents would have ever experienced. 

“We learned a lot,” Newt said, “about ourselves, about each other. Did you know, your granny suffered from postpartum depression with each of our children?”

Rolf’s eyes widened in shock, as Newt continued, “of course, there wasn’t a term for it those days, and we didn’t know as much about it as we know now. She suffered for years, until we realized what was going on and got her treated for it.”

“I had no idea…” Rolf whispered.

“There were other things that contributed to this difficult time we went through,” Newt explained, “but the important thing is, we got help and we worked through it. And we learned some valuable lessons that helped us get through other difficult times.”

“You went back to counseling more than once?” Rolf asked curiously.

“Yes,” Newt nodded, “life is long, and things happen along the way...we had to go back again in ‘45…” he trailed off to compose himself. Talking about ‘45 never got easier, even now.

Rolf nodded, “You mean after the final battle with Grindelwald?”

“Yes,” Newt whispered hoarsely, his heart still searing painfully as though it were yesterday, “we won the war, at long last, but at a terrible cost...I lost my brother in the final battle, and granny lost her sister. As you can imagine, we were both grieving terribly in the aftermath, and, well, we started to slip into old habits...your father was about 5 then, he probably remembers a bit about that difficult time…”

“So you went back for counseling?” Rolf asked.

“We did. Same counselor who’d helped us the first time,” Newt recounted, “and she got us through that terrible time, and we came out stronger than ever. Anyway, I don’t mean to scare you,” Newt grinned at his young grandson, “and you know I love Luna dearly, I think she’s just perfect for you. But I did want to share honestly, so that you know. Things do sometimes get difficult. It doesn't mean you don’t love each other or that there’s something wrong with you. And if you address things early, rather than letting them fester, you come out all the better for it. Never be afraid to go for help if you need it, Rolf.” 

Rolf nodded thoughtfully at Grandad Newt’s tale and his wise advice. It still seemed a bit hard to believe that his grandparents, the most solid, loving, and downright adorable couple he knew, could have ever been at a point of needing marriage counseling. But then, you didn’t get to be 113 without learning at least a few important things about life. 

Rolf looked at his watch, and realized it was time to leave. It was getting late, and with his wedding only five days away, he had lots to do.

“Well, thanks for the tea...and the talk, grandad,” Rolf hugged his grandfather, “and do give granny a kiss from me. I’ve got a lot to do, I need to get going…”

“Of course, of course, the big day is nearly here,” Newt smiled, “and I’m glad we got the chance to really talk as well. I can’t believe that the next time we see you, we’ll be at your wedding!” 

Newt saw Rolf out the door, and watched him walk up the path to apparate away, to wherever he was going next today. Tina came down the stairs and sidled up to her husband, putting her arm around his shoulders. 

“They’re great kids, Rolf and Luna,” Tina said softly, “and you know, they remind me quite a bit of us when we were their age. They’re gonna have a wonderful life together, I know it!” 

“I know it too,” Newt smiled, taking her hand and kissing it, “A long, loving, and happy life together, just as we’ve had.” 


End file.
